Hannibal

The traditional television season is finished. Finished like a perfectly cooked pheasant under glass when prepared by a gourmand/gourmet chef. Or, perhaps, finished like some delicious human sweetbreads after a family of gourmand cannibals feasts upon them. Okay, enough with the disgusting imagery. The facts are these -- "Hannibal," the story of Dr. Lecter and Will Graham's eventual discovery of what Dr. Lecter is, continues to air its first season tonight. We are still about a month from the season finale which means that we have a whole bunch of new episodes still to come. Revel in it, because it will be over all too soon... like a delicious human liver served alongside beer made in a wine barrel.

Past Events

Well, here we are, the end of the second season of "Hannibal." As you well know if you've been watching it, this has been an amazing season for the show. Quite obviously we don't in any way condone cannibalism, but "Hannibal" makes it appear absolutely beautfiul. That doesn't change our mind about partaking of human flesh, but we do love watching Hannibal Lecter do it. Not only does the series look great, but it has some outstandingly compelling acting as well. Watch the season finale tonight and see what happens.

Tonight, the second completely delectable season of "Hannibal" continues. The series, in case you haven't been paying attention, has been put together in the way that a master chef assembles a complicated dish. Every shot has been composed just so, every costume stitched together in an exacting manner, every bit of set decoration appropriately seasoned. It is a feast for the senses, and not just taste (although, you probably shouldn't be tasting your TV), but sight and sound and smell (seriously, you can sometimes almost smell what's going on). Sample the dish the producers have cooked up tonight, we think you'll enjoy it.

It is certainly true that this series centers around a serial killer. We get that, it makes some people not want to tune in. But, we'll tell you this, the show is utterly beautiful, amazingly beautiful. We don't mean the story (which is well told and well acted), we mean that the look of the show is beautiful. Everything about the wardrobes and sets and little flourishes is just beautiful. Tune in tonight and watch for yourself -- we think you're going to like the visual feast.

Never count Hannibal Lecter out. Just when you think you have that cannibal locked up in a cell where you want him, he escapes and has an old friend for dinner. Or something like that. This is a new continuity from the Hannibal Lecter films and books, and offers a distinctly different sort of look at his escapades. It also follows profiler Will Graham who has some very serious issues all his own. Tune in tonight for the start of the second season.

Back in May when NBC announced its fall schedule, it declined to talk one way or the other about the fate of "Hannibal." They wanted to let the series run a little bit longer, get a more complete idea of what the ratings were, see if the fan base was strong enough, that kind of thing. Well, they renewed it. "Hannibal" is coming back next season. So, expect a killer conclusion tonight and, fingers crossed, an even more killer second season for the series. Great acting, great stories, great fun.

When the BAU begins investigating a case that involves the removal of internal organs, Jack fears the Chesapeake Ripper may have resurfaced, though Will believes this particular case is the result of black market organ harvesting gone awry.

How exactly do you go about drawing Hannibal Lecter for television? What is it that you do to make the character palatable on the small screen? Tune in to another new episode of NBC's "Hannibal" tonight and see what flourishes Mads Mikkelsen and everyone else offer up to make the world's most famous fictional cannibal fit fare for the mainstream. This is the fourth episode of the 13 NBC is planning to air on a weekly basis through the end of June, which, in our world, means that things are now starting to simmer.